Andy Burnham MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to today’s A&E performance figures from NHS England showing the worst week in many years, said:

“This week David Cameron told the Commons the NHS was performing well. These figures show he is completely out of touch and does not have a grip on the seriousness of the situation now unfolding in the NHS.

“This was the worst week in A&E in many years. All over England, emergency services are stretched to the limit. Seriously ill people are waiting hours for ambulances to arrive or on trolleys in hospital corridors. This is before the winter has begun in earnest.

“Labour has been warning the Government all year about the growing crisis in A&E but it failed to bring forward a credible plan to halt this decline. It is now a serious situation and the Government’s complacency is becoming dangerous. It proves they can’t be trusted with the NHS.

“David Cameron allowed A&E to sink into crisis by taking social care support from older people and making it harder to see your GP. He must now accept his responsibility to turn it around.

“Labour will rescue the NHS with a £2.5 billion a year Time to Care fund - on top of Tory spending plans - to fund new staff, including 20,000 more nurses.”